IIT Madras YRF (Young Research Fellow) program for UG students

Based on the lines of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) program called ‘Super_UROP, IIT Madras has launched the ‘Young Research Fellow’ (YRF) program. The program is open to any final year undergraduate and for dual degree students of IIT Madras.

The program is an attempt to encourage multi-disciplinary projects. Today, when most subjects are borrowing and intertwining with other disciplines across a number of fields, this program could generate a curious set of minds with knowledge about different areas. It will be a one-year-long program, with 20 fellowships this year.

Minds behind the program

The program was an initiative envisioned by the ‘79 alumni batch. They have formed a team of 30 members, broken down into 10 groups. Various components of YRF, such as program structure, fund-raising, financial strategy planning, and marketing for the program have been handled by the ‘79ers’, as they call themselves.

Subrahmanyam Dravida, Batch of 1979, and now VP Technology, at Qualcomm, said, “We wanted to give back to IIT Madras by designing a program that will deepen the undergraduate experience through immersion in research. We hope this program also enhances the overall research environment at IIT. YRF will also allow students from other colleges to participate.”

Prof Anantha Chandrakasan, who founded the Super-UROP program at MIT was the advisor on the YRF initiative. According to her, involving undergraduates in research will plant the seed for learning at a young stage. Research is about deeper learning of a subject, venturing into unexplored areas of a field, and widening the scope of already known areas. Hence, fostering an appreciation for the same would enable the students to achieve success in a wide range of careers, including their graduate studies.

Benefits and duration of the fellowship

Students selected into the program will receive a monthly honorarium, from IIT Madras. Over the course of one year, they will be participating in interactive lectures, seminars on research skills. Guidance from the IIT Madras faculty will help them understand how to utilize these skills in the field.

Apart from one-on-one interaction with the experienced faculty of IIT, the students will also have a chance to avail mentorship of the 1979 alumni batch. The fellowship will involve a ‘career and life coaching’ (CLIC) program that will be supervised by expert professional coaches and conducted by the alumni.

IIT Madras, while talking about the YRF program, said that the students will also be supported, should they decide to publish their findings in well-reputed international publications. If they wish to present their work at international conferences they will be encouraged with a provision of travel support.

It is all about research

IIT Madras is a very research-intensive university and tries to pursue world-class research, as per their director, Bhaskar Ramamurthi. He says, “This program blends these two strengths by giving selected undergraduate students an opportunity to discover the excitement of research early.”

The IIT Madras YRF Program has received encouragement, support, and appreciation from academicians, industry partners, and even the students who plan to apply for it. It is designed carefully to provide the students with an immersive experience that will involve opportunities for intensive scientific exploration.

Prof Mahesh Pachagnula, Dean of Alumni and Corporate Relations at IIT Madras said, “At a time when India is talking of self-reliance, this program aims to create an interest in deep tech research among some of the best and brightest students in India.”

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